New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday sent former finance minister P. Chidambaram to judicial custody till November 13 in the INX Media money laundering case. Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar dismissed the plea of the Enforcement Directorate for one-day custodial interrogation of Chidambaram.
The court directed Tihar authorities to provide Chidambaram with medicines, western toilet, security and separate cell.
It also said the senior Congress leader may be allowed to have home-cooked food considering his medical condition.
Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on August 21 in the INX Media corruption case and is currently in the ED custody in a related money laundering matter.
The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007, during Chidambaram’s tenure as finance minister.
Thereafter, the ED lodged a money-laundering case in this regard in 2017.
The ED had taken him in to custody on October 16 this year.
Takes dig at government
The Congress leader took a jibe at the BJP government over EU parliamentarians’ visit to Jammu and Kashmir, saying they may be invited to the parliament and speak in favour of the government. “Who knows, it may happen,” Chidambaram said as he came out of the crowded courtroom.
Twenty-three members of the European Parliament visited Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day trip to assess the situation in the Valley after the dilution of Article 370 and revocation of the state’s special status.
This is the third time that the veteran Congress leader has taken a dig at the government.
Earlier, he had mocked the government on the issue of GDP and said, “5%. Do you know what is 5%?”
On October 24, Chidambaram had said, “Quiet patriotism will defeat muscular nationalism.”
Seeks interim bail on health grounds
In a separate development, the former finance minister on Wednesday moved the Delhi high court interim bail on health grounds.
The application for the bail was mentioned by senior advocate Kapil Sibal before a bench of chief justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar, which allowed it to be listed for hearing on Thursday. Chidambaram has sought interim relief for six days to enable him to consult and get examined by his regular doctor at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), Hyderabad.
He has claimed that he needs “urgent medical treatment for the acute and persistent abdominal pain being experienced” by him since October 5 due to Crohn’s disease which he was diagnosed within 2017. Crohn’s disease refers to the inflammation of the digestive tract leading to abdominal pain, diarrhoea and also weight loss.
According to his bail application, he was examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on October 7 and was prescribed an antibiotic and painkillers after which the abdominal pain subsided.
Thereafter, the problem recurred on October 22 and he was examined on October 23 at AIIMS and prescribed a new set of medicines. However, there was no relief from the pain, the application has contended. Subsequently, he was examined again at AIIMS on October 24 and October 26 and tests were conducted at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on October 28, it has said.
Also read: Chidambaram Taken to AIIMS After He Complains of Stomach Ache, Illness
After the medical test, Chidambaram has been put on steroid treatment for the next 16 weeks, the application has said and added that as his body was not responding to the treatment prescribed at AIIMS and hence he is allowed to consult his regular doctor at AIG.
It has also said that his medical reports were sent to his regular doctor by e-mail and after perusing the same, the doctor has said that the inflammation has increased and Chidambaram needs immediate treatment in a sterile environment. The application has further said that he has lost weight from 73.5 kg to 66 kg due to the ailment.
The plea for interim relief has been moved by Chidambaram in his application seeking regular bail in the INX Media money-laundering case in which he is presently in ED custody. His plea for regular bail is listed for hearing on November 4.